Passion Pit – Manners

May 20, 2009

The debut LP from Boston based band Passion Pit arrives with a lot of “album of the year” hype, the sort of hype that can work for or against artists. I was very much looking forward to hearing this album, at any rate, and while I liked a lot of it, I’m pretty sure this isn’t an album of the year, at least for me. That said, I did like a good portion of the album a lot. Passion Pit melds together 80’s synthpop, modern electropop, indie guitar rock and a healthy dollop of disco with falsetto vocals and the occasional children’s chorus to create often densely layered songs. When it works, it really works, resulting in exuberant pop like “Moth’s Wings,” my favorite track on the album, or tracks like “The Reeling,” “Sleepyhead” or “Swimming In The Flood.” Other tracks on Manners aren’t necessarily bad, but they frequently lack the sort of invigorating kick that the music on Cut Copy’s In Ghost Colours or Ladyhawke’s self-titled debut has, or the soaring starry-eyed brainy delirium found on Kelley Polar’s I Need You to Hold on While the Sky Is Falling. All that said, I recommend that synthpop and electropop fans give Manners a listen just the same, as this album may just be right up your alley.